Ruth 1:1-5

Read Ruth 1:1-5

Helpful Background Information: 

• The book of Ruth begins during the time of the judges, when there was a famine in the land (v.1a). Keep in mind, this was the same land that was supposed to be flowing with milk and honey (Exodus 3:8). Only now, the people are there but the milk and honey is not. As a result, we quickly learn about one Israelite family that decided to leave their homeland during this difficult time (v.1b). This family, led by a man named Elimelech, chose to go to the land of Moab to find life where the grass looked greener.

• If you’re familiar with the story of the Bible up until this point, you’ll know full well that Moab is the place with the people you’re taught to be suspicious of. They generally had a tense relationship with Israel, fighting wars off and on for a really long time. Moab was a land known for their arrogance and idolatry, so it was no place to be for an Israelite. Yet, times were tough and in the spirit of the age, Elimelech decided to do what seemed right in their own eyes.

• Come to find out, we’re told that the family’s temporary visit to Moab ended up lasting ten years, and in that time, things went from bad to worse (vv.3-5). At the end of the ten years, Naomi’s husband and two sons died, leaving her as a widow without children in a land that was not her own. After all the loss, Naomi was simply left with her two Moabite daughters-in-law.
  

Reflection Questions: 

• Elimelech’s family left the promised land because life there became difficult. What specific “greener grass” temptations most often pull your heart away from faithfulness to God?

• In chapter 1, Naomi could not yet see how God might bring hope out of tragedy. Can you identify a time when God’s faithfulness and provision became clearer only in hindsight?

• The opening chapter of Ruth forces us to sit with loss before restoration comes. Why is it important not to rush past grief too quickly in our spiritual lives? If you resonate with Naomi’s plight, close by spending a few minutes pouring your own heart out before the Lord.